Chief Umpire
Overview
A Chief Umpire is only required for international tennis events. A Chief Umpire becomes the “liaison officer” between the officials and the tournament staff and/or Referee. When there are Line Umpires, they organise the crews and rotations.
Roles
- They coordinate the officials, assign the Chair Umpires and Line Umpires and deal with officiating problems or requests from officials.
- Alongside the organisers, support recruitment of competent officials and provide them with training on the Rules of Tennis, Tournament Regulations, Code of Conduct, and duties.
- Prepare a list of officials, including contact details and certifications, to be shared with the ITF Supervisor/Referee and ITF Officiating if needed.
- Organize daily on-court assignments for officials, subject to approval by the ITF Supervisor/Referee.
- Conduct meetings with on-court officials to clarify court assignments, call-making procedures, hand signals, and other responsibilities, as outlined in the ITF Line Umpire Guide.
- Assess the performance of all on-court officials. Chair Umpires also can access while on court and work with Chief on final report.
- The Chief Umpire must be present on-site during play and should not serve as a Chair or Line Umpire unless approved by the ITF Supervisor/Referee.
- Aid the ITF Supervisor/Referee in their duties.
- Chief Umpires at ITF World Tennis Tour events or higher must be familiar with live-scoring devices and their correct usage.
Chief Umpire Pathways
Typically only international events require a Chief Umpire.
The Chief Umpire recruits, assigns, (and replaces or reassigns, when necessary) and evaluates Chair Umpires and Line Umpires in those tournaments where the Referee has delegated these duties to them. In other words, the Chief is an assistant to the Referee in the specific area of the management of officials.
Any NZ official that would like attend a White Badge (Level 2) Chief Umpire Course needs to have previously had experience in tennis and actively involved to a high standard.
NZ officials are to contact Tennis New Zealand about registering on the ITF Officiating Portal to start uploading their work experience.
It is essential that officials are actively officiating to a high standard. For White Badge Chief Umpires there are certain level ITF Tournaments you can work as a Chief.
Once an official has successfully completed a Level 3 (White Badge) Chief School and obtained a White Badge Chief Umpire certification, an official is then eligible to apply for a Silver Chief School.
It is essential that officials are actively officiating to a high standard to help with their selection for a Silver Chief School.
Promotions to Gold Badge are discussed during the end of year re-certification meeting by the panel, comprised of members of the Joint Certification Programme (ITF, ATP, WTA and Grand Slam tournaments).
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